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Today we'll be going to go over one of the more interesting creature types in Magic: Assassins! Not including tokens, there are 132 cards with the Assassin type in the game, with many of those appearing in the more recent Assassin's Creed expansion. In fact 35 of those 132 cards appeared in ACR. Unfortunately, a lot of the ACR cards reference other Assassins, meaning that unless you're specifically building a deck around Assassins, a lot of them can be tricky to utilize effectively.
Interestingly enough, there are 11 cards that don't have the Assassin card type, but reference the Assassin type in the text, such as Origin of the Hidden Ones, Vraska the Unseen, and Brotherhood Headquarters (which feels like it should get an honorable mention).
This list, however, will solely focus on Assassin creatures, and their impact in the game or why I have personally chosen them as favorites.
Let's begin!
Basim Ibn Ishaq
This is one of my favorite cards from the Assassin's Creed set. In fact there are quite a few Assassins on this list from the Assassin's Creed set. Weird, right? One of my favorite Vintage Cube cards that I added was Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain, and Basim is of course an obvious upgrade to her by a longshot.
In fact, Basim is so much of an upgrade that he sees a bit of Modern play in decks like Affinity and the Underworld Breach combo decks. This is a grade A Assassin in multiple formats.
Callidus Assassin
Interestingly, this is another Assassin from a Universes Beyond set. That's kind of funny. While it seems extremely similar to Evil Twin, there are quite a few key differences. If needed, you can just play the Callidus Assassin as a 3/3. It also costs neither mana nor a tap activation to destroy the creature it copies, although you are spending the entire six mana upfront. All that being said, the flash here does a lot of work, allowing you to kill something like Griselbrand at the end of the turn, then attack with it on your own turn.
Iridescent Vinelasher
This is another lil guy that has seen play in multiple competitive formats, including Standard, Pioneer, and Modern. So many of the offspring cards were very well designed, and the ability is basically...you guessed it: kicker for creature tokens!
As a one-drop, the Vinelasher starts dealing damage as quickly as possible, and in multiples, this can be a real pain, especially if you're able to start putting multiple lands into play each turn. If you draw all four of them, you could go Vinelasher on turn one, two Vinelasers on turn two, Vinelasher and offspring on turn three! Follow me for more pro tips. 5Lasher.dek.
Kassandra, Eagle Bearer
Kassandra is another awesome addition from Assassin's Creed. I love creatures that let you go and search for cards. While Kassandra only lets you find a specific card - The Spear of Leonidas - two cards for three mana still passes the value test. This is another Assassin's Creed card that lets you draw extra cards after fulfilling a condition, in this case dealing combat damage. It doesn't hurt that The Spear is a really cool equipment, with three very impressive modes: granting double strike, making a 3/2 Horse, or rummaging for two (discarding two cards then drawing two cards).
Massacre Girl
Massacre Girl is pretty much a Commander All-Star. There was a really great Hearthstone card called Defile, released in 2017, that said "Deal 1 damage to all minions. If any die, cast this again." It's very easy to see how this card may have been the inspiration for Massacre Girl in 2019's War of the Spark. She just keeps killing, and killing, and killing...
Queen Marchesa
I don't play a ton of Commander, but Queen Marchesa was one of the first Commanders I ever built. Deathtouch, haste, and the monarch is a great combination for four mana. One of the things I love about Marchesa's design is that, while it's terrible to lose the monarchy, Marchesa makes very threatening Assassin tokens every turn you're not the queen. This is a four-mana card that has a lot going for it.
Ravenloft Adventurer
This card is really only here because it grants the initiative, which is a big deal. The initiative was such a strong mechanic that certain cards that granted it were banned because they were too effective. (Looking at you, White Plume Adventurer).
That being said, the Adventurer is still an Assassin, so it makes the cut as one of the best. With there being a cycle of Adventurer creatures that let you take the initiative, Ravenloft is one of the weaker ones, but again, that doesn't really matter. It's a flavorful Assassin that puts hit counters on things. Good for you, Ravenloft Adventurer.
Vein Ripper
We all know Vein Ripper is only here because he broke the entire Pioneer format wide open, won the Pro Tour, then subsequently got Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord banned. That's not to say the card isn't good on its own, but paying the full six mana is a much taller order than cheating him into play on turn three, which is why he just hasn't seen the play he used to, despite still commanding nearly a $15 price tag.
Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll catch ya next time!
Frank Lepore
